Contributed by: BenAndThievesBenAndThieves(others by this writer | submit your own)Published on April 13th 2007Technical, noisy, and vehemently anti-fashion, Bleeding Kansas' Dead Under Decor is a sonic call to arms against today's increasingly vapid musical landscape. Don't let the presence of the word "bleeding" fool you, however; this is not the kind of clichéd hipster crap a name like Bleeding Kansas mi.

Technical, noisy, and vehemently anti-fashion, Bleeding Kansas' Dead Under Decor is a sonic call to arms against today's increasingly vapid musical landscape. Don't let the presence of the word "bleeding" fool you, however; this is not the kind of clichéd hipster crap a name like Bleeding Kansas might suggest. These guys sound much more in line with Converge than say, Atreyu, and we can all be thankful for that.

These guys are severely pissed off and disillusioned with the current state of the hardcore/punk scene, and it shows. The title track takes aim at overly fashion-conscious scenesters with lines like, "Let's spend a paycheck on a new life / Dead under your décor / They will want you for you / Not what new style you're wearing / Stop hiding under your clothes." Truer words have hardly been uttered by anyone, in or out of the hardcore community, in a damn long time.

Fans of bands like Coalesce, Breather Resist, or the Minor Times will feel familiar with Bleeding Kansas's brand of angular dissonance. They back it up with a keen sense of dynamics and solid songwriting, two concepts lost on some of their lesser peers. "Retract the Altitude" and "Your Scars Never Heal" open up with heavy, off-time riffs before shifting into more grooving midsections that build back up into thunderous walls of noise. "My Words, My Voice" starts off with some sparse drumming and off-kilter guitars before the band takes their foot off the brake pedal and slams things into gear a little after the one-minute mark.

"Drowning in a Sea of Shit (Preprise)" is by far the most chilled out track here, providing a little bit of a break from the more skull-crushing moments. It doesn't last long before leading into the song's toweringly heavy followup, "Drowning in a Sea of Shit." It's those kinds of changes that keep you on your toes, and keep this album from sounding exactly like every other technical metalcore album already in existence.

In short, Dead Under Decor makes a complete mockery of the girl-pants and mascara-loving fashion zombies who have overrun the underground scene in recent years, and it rocks pretty thoroughly while doing so. If passion means more to you than fashion, consider giving this a shot.

I know damn well fashion is and always has been a part of any musical subculture or movement. There is nothing at all wrong with that. The problem is when image takes precedence over music and people start turning their noses up at one another because their clothes aren't cool enough. That's a prevalent topic on this CD, and I happen to agree with this band on that point.

This album, to me at least, is suggesting we look past what people are wearing and start seeing people as people rather than mannequins, and accept them as equals regardless of their chosen clothing style, fashionable or not. If you don't like the fact that Bleeding Kansas used that as the basis for an album's lyrical content then fine, but stop riding my ass about it.

Part of Dead Under Decor's message, beyond being sick of "fashioncore," is to live your life without worrying whether or not your clothes are cool enough. At least that's what I got out of it, and I feel that's a fairly positive statement. They do go a bit deeper than simply saying, "fashioncore kids suck." This album would be boring from a lyrical standpoint if it really were that one-dimensional.

The anti-fashion sentiment behind this album is nothing more than a theme the band chose to focus on. It doesn't mean they didn't have anything else they could have written about, nor does it mean they aren't passionate about anything else, nor does it mean all they're doing is whining, and I don't know or care why they didn't write about something else.

I would suggest actually listening to the CD, or at least getting a hold of the lyric sheet, and then deciding for yourself if this band is making valid social commentary or just whining.

I didn't say their publicist and fans would be upset with the review. I said it would embarass them how you basically jerked off all over it.
And my question still remains: If all you sing about is how lame people obsessed with fashion are, can that really be equated with having a passion for the music? If the unpassionate, fashion obsessed masses weren't there, what would this band be singing about? And, if they are truly passionate about that, why aren't they singing about it now? Yes, fashioncore is an affront to what most of us hold dear, but if you spend a whole album whining about it, are you really practicing what you hold dear? Basically, isn't living well supposed to be the best revenge? Wouldn't putting out the best possible, most passionate album be a better assault on fashioncore than whining about fashioncore?

"So what are they passionate about? Hating people who aren't passionate? That seems to be the only message you spent time on."

Disgust with idea of style taking precedence over substance is the theme of this entire album and I emphasized that fact. That's how I chose to approach this review, and that's all.

Being disheartened by the "image first" mentality a lot of bands have now and expressing that discontent is a lot different than simply "hating people who aren't passionate."

With that said, this isn't the best review I've ever written and I am fully aware I could of done a better job on it. However, I really doubt their publicist would be bummed they got a good review, and I don't think "people with tattoos of this band" would be upset about that either.

So what are they passionate about? Hating people who aren't passionate? That seems to be the only message you spent time on.

This is no insult to the band. I haven't heard them. But this review, more than any other I have read on this site in 7 years, reads like it would even embarass the band's publicist. People with tattoos of the band would tell you to stop being such a fanboy.

Anonymous (April 14, 2007)

I relly liked this album up until the horrible Chicago rip off. Come on guys that is sad. anyone else nothice this. Carry on my Wayward Son. Come on. That is just pitiful.

First! I was hooked on these guys after getting their Great Redneck Hope split 7". Amazing, fucking amazing band. Their split with La Mantra De Fhiqria and their ep were solid too. I feel like they are more like a chilled out Botch with some extremely minor elements of old school thrown into the mix. I bought this the first day it came out, I'm surprised it has taken so long to be reviewed or posted. Great review though. Hopefully some people will give these guys a chance. And yeah, the Minor Times comparison is spot on.